I got several good images from my brief visit to Hinckley Lake yesterday before a very, very long work "day." Some shots were, of course, better than others. Some have been deleted –just no good– and a few got away. I'm pretty happy with this shot of a Great Blue Heron starting its day in the shallows. I watched as it preened its expansive wings, stretched, and then stood as if to begin warming up for a morning of fishing. A hunter of another sort had laid a trap that I found all covered with dew. The droplets and low sun angle combined to create a shimmering rainbow on, what for insects, is a deadly snare but what, for the spider, means life. Needless to say, mornings at Hinckley Lake are my favorite time there and I feel calmed just recalling the scenes and sensations from my visit.
PhotonStopper 
Good shot. There are some herons near where my dad works (Lynn, MA) but I think they have already started moving south for the winter.
Thanks, Jeff. All summer we see a lot of Great Blue Herons in Northeastern Ohio. Once in a while we also spot snowy egrets. Great Blues are very impressive to watch and when they fly they put me in mind of how pterosaurs ("pterodactyls") may have looked in prehistoric skies. Even the heron's "graack" call sounds like it belongs in Jurassic Park. I've even seen one or two of them as they've caught fish. I expect soon birds will vacate our lakes, too, but until then I'm enjoying the show. — JG
I played the golf course in Lynn where my dad works. The course abuts both the Lynn Reservoir and the Lynn Woods reservation, so birds flock to it. We saw a couple of beautiful blue herons, but since I was golfing I hadn't brought my camera gear. I'll get out there next summer and rent a cart for some wildlife photos